The first fall is actually a funny story, it was in the first month of lessons with S. I was riding Gus who is the oldest and sweetest lesson horse (never dumps kids, just doesn't go forward). He tripped on a ground pole and the grass had dew on it. Needless to say neither of us stayed upright. My ankle was caught between him and one of the ground poles. Hence the reason I don't know if I hit my head or not. I was so busy trying not to swear that I don't remember anything beside thinking I had broken my ankle. Thankfully that didn't happen. So that is the story of how I fell of the best lesson horse in the barn.
The second one was with Stinker which I don't know if it should really count as a fall since I never made it on. I was getting on bareback and flopped on his side which caused him to spook. I thought the ground looked better than the side of the horse, so I tried to drop back to the ground and proceeded to sprain my ankle and skid on the gravel driveway. I know my head hit in the skid.
The bottom line, is I want the helmet, but I am terrified if I buy it I am going to promptly fall off and bust it. They do a replacement program....but it would still be $120 to replace it. I do think that the more expensive helmets offer better protection and I do need my brain to afford my horse. So...I should probably just go ahead and upgrade. But, I am terrified I will jinx myself if I do. And yes with that logic I will mention that I am a scientist and I do see the irony in it. And I promise I don't use this logic at work (much).
So, do I buy the new helmet (considering the fact I am looking for a new saddle also)? Or do I wait and stick with my old one for a couple more months?
Logic says buy a new helmet (any new helmet, expensive or not). But I'm right up there with you- I know my helmet should be retired and I had a chance to buy the same thing at 40% off at Rolex this year and I decided to buy a BOT Mesh Sheet instead, because logically $50 for a helmet vs $260 for a sheet, buying the sheet is the right thing to do.
ReplyDeleteI don't subscribe to more expensive = better protection though. All helmets need to be SEI/ASTM certified- that means the same level of protection. They just do different padding and looks. I do keep two helmets though- a nicer one for in public at clinics and shows, and an every day one so that my expensive one sees less rides = less chance of being in a fall.
DeleteI can justify any purchase for my horse but I'm not nearly as convincing when it is for me.
DeleteI didn't buy into the whole better quality thing until I saw a friend's helmet. She was galloping and her horse kicked up behind and she ended up going off the front. The horse ran over her and her helmet had the initial impact with the ground then had two other distinct marks. One was a skid mark from the ground then the other was a skid mark from her horse's hoof. Her helmet was still intact. I highly doubt certified or not my helmet would have survived the secondary blows or not.
That being said I have not done my research or tested this theory with my helmet (thankfully), but that did make me start questioning the certified is certified.
Definitely get the new helmet. They're expensive to replace, but a heck of a lot cheaper than a TBI!
ReplyDeleteSo true. Sometimes I forget that I also need to be functional and not just my horse :)
DeleteBuy the helmet! Your safety is more important than saving a few $'s in the short term. Like Codex, I also have two helmets. One less expensive Tipperary for every day use and my beloved purple CO for when we leave home. I had to replace the Tipperary 4 times in one year because I firmly believe that your helmet must be replaced with each fall (I had a rough year)
ReplyDeleteI've thought about going that route but I don't like switching things up. I get anxious enough and like to keep as much the same as I can. But I do think I will be ordering a new helmet soon.
Deletei love my one K - it's definitely my favorite helmet ever and worth every single penny. also that pic of your ankle looks shockingly familiar.... like maybe i have something identical of my own ankle haha. glad yours didn't end up breaking tho!
ReplyDeleteI am so thankful. I might have been in the dog house at work if I had broken it. Every time I went to the doctor they X rayed it. I'm pretty sure they were convinced it was broken. Although four months later it is still swelling off and on and my flexibility is crap. A flat foot is pretty much the best I can do... Half the time in lessons I'm like I swear I am trying please look at my other leg.
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